Ohio farmhand pleads not guilty to animal cruelty

An Ohio dairy farm worker accused of abusing cows in an undercover video has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of cruelty to animals.

An attorney for 25-year-old Billy Joe Gregg Jr. entered the plea Wednesday. Gregg appeared on a video conference Thursday in a separate court to plead not guilty to a felony gun charge.

An animal welfare group says video it recorded for an undercover investigation showed Gregg and others beating cows with crowbars and poking them with pitchforks at Conklin Dairy Farms Inc. The farm has condemned the video footage and says it fired Gregg.